Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), is currently responding to outages in all service regions as snow continues to fall throughout New England. As of 11 a.m. approximately 3,000 Unitil customers are without power, with approximately 2,500 of impacted customers residing in Massachusetts and the remainder in New Hampshire.
According to the most recent forecast, as much as 4-6 additional inches of wet, heavy snow are possible throughout the area, with wind gusts to approach 40-45 miles per hour. With trees already loaded from snow from Friday and overnight last night, additional snow has the potential to create new outages on the system, as otherwise healthy trees and branches burdened with snow may be brought down on lines, causing damage. Motor vehicle accidents due to the snow are also causing outages on the system.
“We have multiple locations in Massachusetts right now with broken poles caused by motor vehicle accidents,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “We ask all to follow the guidance of local officials, avoid travel if possible and remain safe while this storm progresses.”
Due to the compounding nature of this evening’s forecasted snow plus additional wet, heavy snow forecasted later in the week, Unitil has secured additional crews from Canada to assist with restoration efforts as the week progresses and snow continues to fall.
“The staggered nature of these storms has created a situation where we restore power in one area only to see fresh snow creating new issues elsewhere,” O’Meara said. “We expect to be working throughout the week as new issues continue to be created by these frequent storm events.”
Heavy wet snow has the potential to damage trees and take wires to the ground. We urge all to always assume all cables and wires that have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line, as water conducts electricity. In addition, keep away from all flooded and debris-laden areas because they may be hiding downed lines. Stay in a safe place and avoid driving in damaged areas so you don’t interfere with rescue and restoration efforts.
Unitil will be communicating throughout the event through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), our website, our customer call center, and through the media. We also encourage customers to follow along with our storm updates via Facebook, our Twitter feed (@Unitil) and we will be providing real-time outage information online at unitil.com/map.
Important Note for Media:
Unitil asks that when reporting outage information, outlets time stamp the information. Outage numbers change hourly and we wish to make sure the information customers receive is consistent and understandable. Re-Tweets and re-posting of old information without referencing a time can create confusion.
Customers experiencing outages should call 1-888-301-7700 or report online at unitil.com/outage.
